Machine for bending pipes and the like



March 10, 1936. c. F. w. FRANK 2,033,423

MACHINE FOR BENDING PIPES AND THE. LIKE Filed July 22, 1953 "-5 Sheets-Sheet 1 mw w@ Ws/ A Si S \\\\\\\IN WN# www On n* W March 10, 1936. c. F. w. FRANK MACHINE FOR BENDING. PIPEs AND ATnmxua l 3 uSheets-Sheet 2 Filed July- 22, 1933 wm, nu

OM S March l0, 1936. c, w. FRANK MACHINEFOR BENDING PIPES AND THE LIKE Filed .July 22, 19:55 s sheets-sheet s AHOREY Patented Mar. 10, 1936 MAcmNE Fon BENDnvG PIPES AND THE LIKE Carl F. W. Frank, Cincinnati, Ohio Application July 22, 1933, Serial No. 681,73

4 Claims.

This is an invention in mechanisms of the type which may .be employed in bending pipes, tubes, bars, rods, or the like, of any cross sectional shape and of material ductile enough to withstand the stresses incidental to bending the walls thereof under the necessary compressive and tensional strains incidental to the usual bending operations.

An object of my'invention is to produce a machine for the purpose outlined, in which the bending operation is accomplished in a manner unique to the art of bending such objects as have been listed, such manner of bending constituting a new and novel method of manipulating the object to be bent so that crushed, marred or distorted walls, cross sectional areas, and shapes are prevented.

A further object is to produce a machine for the purpose specied, in which the mechanism employed for bending the object is 'capable of adjustment to produce bends of desired angularity either of fixed or varying degree and extent and continuously or intermittently in any direction throughout the length of the object to be bent, regardless of the length thereof.

These and other objects are attained in the pipe bending machine described in the following specication and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the bending machine .embodying my invention, certain parts being broken away for convenience of illustration.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view upon enlarged scale, of the bending unit portion of the machine embodying my invention, the part being shown in normal position such as would occasion no bend being given to a pipebeing passed through the unit.

3 is a view, similar to Fig. 2, showing the bending unit in adjusted position, in order that a desired bend may be placed in the pipe upon which the machine is operating.

Fig. 4' is a fragmental plan view, upon a slightly reduced scale, with the bending unit in normal position and with parts thereof broken away in order that its construction and operation may be shown more clearly.

Fig. 5 is a fragmental sectional side elevation -of the unit shown in Fig. 4 and with the parts in the same relative positions.

Fig. 6 is a. view similar to Fig. 4 but showing the bending unit in adjusted position in order to show the bend which is imparted to the pipe being passed through the unit.

Fig. 7 is a view similar t'o "Fig. 5 but Showing the parts in adjusted position such as would give another direction of bend to the pipe being manipulated by the bending machine.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on. the line 8-8 of Fig. l and showing the parts in slightly enlarged proportion.

The machine embodying my invention consists essentially of a bending unit II, a conveyor I2, and a guide I3 through which the pipe passes from the conveyor to the bending unit. These elements may be mounted on a suitable frame, table or support I4 the. details of which are unessential to tire invention I have made, these elements or units being driven and properly coordinated by mechanism the details of which are not illustrated or described hereinand which are deemed unessential to the disclosure of the invention I have claimed.

' The bender unit shown in detail in Figs. 2 to 7 inclusive, may conswt of a body or head I5. which is mounted in upright position upon a shaft or bearing I6 by means of which it is pivoted or swiveled for movement rotatively in a horizontal plane, as suggested in the relative positions shown in Figs. 4 and 6. The direction of rotation shown in Fig. 6 is to one side of thee central or normal position shown in Fig. 4, it being obvious that it is equally possible to move the bending unit to a position opposite to` that shown in Fig. 6, the exact angle or degree of rotation being made variable in accordance with the desires and requirements of the operator of the machine and the work to be accomplished. In bearings I1 and I8 at the upper end of bender head -I5 is mounted the block I9 which carries bender rollers or wheels 20, 2|, 22, and 23 mounted in transverse slots in the block I9 and providing a space centrally between them for the passage of a pipe 24 to be bent. This block I9 being mounted in the bearings I1 and I8 which carry it rotatably on a horizontal axis normally extending transversely of the direction of the movement of pipe to the bending unit, may be rotated'to cause the rollers 20 and 22 to direct the pipe 24 either upwardly, as shown in Fig. '7, or downwardly in the event the block I9( is moved to anopposite position to that shown in Fig. 7. For thepurpose of rotating the block I9 as has been described, I have provided gear teeth 25 thereon, which, meshing with gear teeth 26 on a gear segment 21, may be caused, through its mounting shaft 28, to change the position of the block from normal, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, to the desired position of angularity as shown .in Figs. 3 and '7. Inasmuchas it is desirable to impart a bend occasionally at an angle in the horizontal plane, as suggested in Fig. 6, this is readily accomplished by imparting to head I5 a partial rotation upon its pivot I6 to the extent necessary to create the desired bend. This brings bending rollers 2I and 23 into operation, as shown in Fig. 6, in which event the pipe is caused to be bent toward or into a horizontal direction extending to one side or the other of the axis of the pipe being fed to the machine.

It is obvious that, in view of the fact that a vertical bend may be imparted to the pipe, as has been described, and, in view of the fact that a sidewise orhorizontal bend may be imparted to the pipe, also as has been described, it is quite possible to combine the two movements, in order that a bend may be imparted in a direction other than the strictly horizontal and vertical. It may be seen readily that this is done by settingthe bender head I5 at an angle out of the normal and by setting the block I9 at an angle out of the normal, which will occasion a placing of all the rollers 20, 2|, 22, and 23 in nonnormal position which will direct the pipe both upwardly and horizontally simultaneously, thereby giving the bend or bent portion thereof a direction at an angle inclined both to the vertical and horizontal. In accomplishing this result it is obvious that all of the rollers v2li to 23 inclusive will cooperate in performing this single function. Y

It is obvious that the rollers to 23 inclusive will function to greater advantage if they are mounted so as to be as freely rotatable as possible. Hence, it is desirable that these rollers partake of the nature of ball or roller bearing structures as suggested in Figs. 4 to '1 inclusive.

Inasmuch as the bending action of the rollers or the block of the bending unit are held inI adjusted position, it is obvious that the bend produced will be continuous until such time as the head and/or block are returned to normal position as shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4, and 5. 'll'here-A fore, if a piece of bending work is to be done, in which there are a number of bends to be made, which bends may extend in two or more directions orwhich bends may be separated by straight portions of the pipe, the head and/or block of the bending .unit must be manipulated either separately or simultaneously to accomplish the desired results and precisely at thel time and to the degree of angularity necessary tomeet the requirements. Obviously this manipulation may be accomplished either manually or by mechanism suitably designed for the purpose and associated with the conveyor of the machine.

The conveyor by means of which the pipe is fed to the bending unit, is shown in Figs. 1 and 8 of my accompanying drawings. This conveyor preferably partakes of the character of two endless belts or chains 29 and 30 which are located on opposite sides of the i fed tothe bending unit. These elements 29 and 30 preferably are of the chain type and specifically it is desirable that such a chain be of roller construction so that the portions thereof adjacent to the pipe 24 may be held toward the pipe by being passed over bars or tracks 32 and 33 mounted in adjustable angles or bearing walls 34 and '35 on' the machine. On each. of the links of the chains 29 and 30 I have provided a clip 36 in which a chunk, block, pad or jaw of yielding material such as rubber 3l, is held. By proper n pipe 24 which is being 49 and 4I over which the chains 29 and 39 pass, 4

are suitably driven, as by means of bevel gears 42 and 43 on the shafts canying sprockets 40 and 4I, which by means of y cooperating bevel gears 44 and 45 on a drive shaft 46, drive the chains in unison. In order that angles 34 and may be caused to move toward or away from each other, I have provided an adjustment screw 41 which is provided witl threads 48 and 49 of reverse pitch so that the angles 34 and 35 are moved toward or away from each other reversely atthe same time. Thus the degree of pressure exerted by the yielding. jaws 31 on the Walls of the pipe 24, may be varied to meet the conditions as to forward pressure necessitated to push the pipe through the bending unit. The guide I3 has been provided to prevent sagging, buckling or bending of the pipe as it is fed by the conveyor toward and 'through'the bending unit. This guide may be provided with a tubular member which is of a length and is provided with a bore in keeping with the conditions necessitated by the size, material and other conditions surrounding the pipe which is being manipulated. Therefore, if desired, the tubular element 50 or the entire guide I3 may be changed to accommodate it to the conditions to which it may be subjected. ,f

Throughout the specification which has preceded the following claims, I have referred tc the article being manipulated, as a pipe. It is obvious that this article may be a pipe, a tube, a rod, a bar or a heavy wire. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, I have referred to such various structures by the use of the term pipe and desire that this term be interpretedaccordingly in an understanding of the invention as has been described and claimed herein. In addition to this, it is obvious that the limitations of the article being worked upon need not confine it to a purely cylindrical formation. For example, it

may be a pipe, bar, tube, rod or the like whichV has more than one plane surface, so that its cross sectional shape. may present a triangular,

square or other formation.

In addition to this it will be seen that I have produced a bending machine in which the material to be bent is not gripped by the bending unit, but is passed through the unit freely after the unit has been moved to adjusted position to produce the desired curvature or combinations of curvatures. Furthermore it will be seen that I have produced a bending machine in which the act of bending is produced by pushing instead of pulling the article to be bent, as'has been done heretofore. This produces a most desirable result in that the wall or walls of the pipe or the like are. not crushed, cut, grooved or dented by a pulling device, and in which there is no pulling device which will tend to change the shape of thek bends of the tubing as it has been or is. being acted upon vby the bending unit. Furthermore, the action of the yielding jaws 31 on the article being manipulated, is such that no marring, scratching or otherwise defacing of the surface areas will be possible. This is particularly de-- sirable when such pipe or tubing of relatively soft material. such as copper, isemployed;

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A pipe bender comprising a head element angularly movable in a horizontal planefand a block element angularly movable in a vertical plane, said head element carrying the block element, said block elementv including four bending rollers, two of which occupy superposed relationship in said vertical plane and two of which occupy opposed relationship in said horizontal plane.

Y 2. A pipe bender comprising a. bodyelement angularly movable in a horizontal plane, a block element carried by the body element and angularly movable ina vertical plane, said block element including four bending rollers, two of which occupy super-posed relationship in said vertical plane, and two of which occupy opposed relationship in said horizontal plane, and means for feeding the pipe through the block element regardless of the angularity of position of the elements.

3. A pipe bender comprising a body element,

. angularly movable in a horizontal plane, a block element including a series of bending rollers two of which occupy super-posed relationship inv said vertical plane, and two of which occupy opposed relationship in said horizontal plane,`

and means for pushing the pipe through the block element regardless of the angularity of position of the elements.

4. A pipe bender comprising a xed guiding element, and an adjustable bending element, said bending element comprising a group of two pairs of rollers, one pair of which occupies spaced vertical planar relationship and the cooperating pair of which occupies spaced horizontal planar relationship, whereby a pipe may be moved between said rollers during the bending operation, said bending element being addustable `during continuation of the bending operation tochange angularity of bend and angularity of plane of successive bends. and means to push a pipe without cessation of movement through said elements.

CARL F. W. FRANK. 

